The man charged with shooting down a sheriff's helicopter in 2005 shut down the Big I late Friday night.

Albuquerque police said Jason Kerns had a gun when officers pulled him over after he took off from a car crash Friday night. Kerns' was driving a white Hummer that came to a stop on a flyover ramp.

Advertisement

"As soon as (officers) approached the vehicle, he displayed a gun, so they backed off and set up a perimeter," said Albuquerque police public information officer Daren Deaguero.

The FBI said Kerns is a former marksmanship instructor for the Marines. He’s also the man accused of shooting down a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter in 2005.In the thick of it all Friday night, police explained Kerns wasn’t being cooperative with negotiators.

“He is not giving any signs of communication back. He is in the vehicle. At this point, it's just a waiting game now,” Deaguero said.

During that waiting game, law enforcement filled the area and closed the busy flyover for the safety of officers and the public.

“He did display a firearm, so he would have the high ground. So we need to keep people away from that area. He would have it on everyone else,” Deaguero said.

Police interviewed Kerns early Saturday morning when he was taken into custody. At this point, there isn’t more information about why he showed a gun to officers and didn’t come out of his Hummer for hours.

According to detention center records, Kerns has not been booked into jail yet.Kerns faced federal charges in the case of BCSO’s shot helicopter, but those charges were eventually dropped.

Back in 2005, BCSO’s helicopter metro one was flying over Kerns’ neighborhood in search of burglary suspects. The pilot said he heard a loud boom and then had to make a quick landing.

At the time, police accused then 29-year-old Kerns of shooting it down because the noise was bothering his dog. But those charges were thrown out because of a lack of evidence.

Kerns ended up suing the county and BCSO. He claimed BCSO falsely accused him of the crime and withheld key evidence from him. The sheriff’s office denied those claims.

The lawsuit is seeking money to cover attorney fees and compensation. The case is still pending.